UT official says Muschamp expected to stay

UT says Muschamp expected to stay

Published 6:30 am, Wednesday, January 13, 2010

A day of rampant speculation about the future of Texas' defensive coordinator ended with a UT spokesman saying Will Muschamp had not taken any outside interviews and sources within the athletic department saying they expected Muschamp to remain with the Longhorns.

Muschamp was one of the first candidates mentioned by several media outlets after Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin left the Volunteers on Tuesday to accept the head coach job at USC. But by late Wednesday, officials at Texas sounded confident their head coach-designate will not leave Austin for Knoxville.

“Will Muschamp has not interviewed for any jobs,” UT spokesman John Bianco said. “He reiterated to me today that he is happy at Texas and plans to be here for a long time.”

This is the second time Muschamp, 38, has been rumored to be in consideration for the Tennessee job. In 2008, Texas responded by announcing plans to raise Muschamp's salary to $900,000 per year and have him succeed Mack Brown as the Longhorns' head coach.

But Muschamp's Southeastern Conference background (he's worked previously at Auburn, LSU and Georgia) and the success of his vaunted Texas defense have continued to make him a popular name in coaching searches. On Wednesday, one Internet report said Muschamp flew to Tennessee to discuss the opening, but a Texas athletic department source denied that report and said Muschamp was in Austin all day.

Last week before the Bowl Championship Series title game in California, athletic director DeLoss Dodds said he was pleased with the school's arrangement with Muschamp and said there was a possibility his contract could be tweaked — with a raise — this offseason. Muschamp said in California he's happy to wait his turn at Texas, even though Brown's $5-million-per-year contract runs through 2016.

“Everybody has a hard time with people liking where they're at,” Muschamp said. “I'm not a grass-is-greener guy. I'm not looking for any other job. I like the one I've got.”